The number of sickening child abuse images found on the internet has doubled in a year, a report has found.
As
Britain's internet giants face growing demands to do more to block
indecent images, experts said 70,000 pictures and videos of children
being abused were discovered last year - double the 2011 figure of
35,000.
The annual study by
the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre also
highlighted a growing problem: vulnerable families in developing
countries streaming live abuse of their children via webcam in exchange
for cash from paedophiles.
Going online: As Britain's internet giants face
growing demands to do more to block indecent images, experts said 70,000
pictures and videos of children being abused were discovered last year
(file picture)
It also found that there has been a 70 per cent increase in the number of images featuring girls under the age of 10, and a 125 per cent increase in the number of Level 4 images - which feature sex with children - on the internet.
In
its annual threat assessment of child sexual exploitation and abuse,
CEOP said the rape and sexual assault of children being shown live over
the internet was an emerging problem, and said that paedophiles were
increasingly using sophisticated software to hide their illegal
activities.
Many are said to
use heavily encrypted networks and other security measures to hide
their abuse pictures within the 'hidden internet'.
Peter
Davies, chief executive of CEOP, said: ‘Our assessment shows that,
sadly, there are still too many children at risk and too many people who
would cause them serious harm.
‘While the assessment may not make
comfortable reading, that isn’t its purpose. It’s an objective
assessment of the issues as we see them but as a result it is also,
undoubtedly, a call to action.
‘We should all practise zero tolerance to child sexual exploitation and abuse.’
The
ease with which paedophiles can find sickening images has come under
scrutiny in recent months following the convictions of Mark Bridger and
Stuart Hazell for the murders of five-year-old April Jones and
12-year-old Tia Sharp.
Both
men had visited child abuse sites before the attacks. The parents of
both children have called for more action to tackle the problem.
In the spotlight: The ease at which paedophiles
can find sickening images has come under scrutiny in recent months
following the convictions of Mark Bridger (left) and Stuart Hazell
(right) for the murders of young girls
CEOP warned that one in 58 children in
the UK will be abused by someone who is not a relative before they turn
18. And it says an estimated 50,000 web users are involved in
distributing the sickening images in Britain.
There are 10,000 fresh cases of children being abuse being reported in Britain each year, it found.
Justice minister Damian Green said:
‘These figures are deeply troubling and show how our understanding of
child sexual exploitation has greatly improved in recent years.
'More needs to be done. Together, as communities, we need to ensure these sickening crimes no longer remain hidden'
Justice minister Damian Green
‘Police are bringing more cases
before the courts and significant sentences are being handed down to
perpetrators. But more needs to be done.
'Together, as communities, we need to ensure these sickening crimes no longer remain hidden.’
An
NSPCC spokesman added: ‘The evidence the NSPCC has gathered from all
police forces in England and Wales shows there are around 20,000 sexual
offences against children reported every year and many of the victims
are under primary-school age.
‘However,
we believe this is far from the true situation as many cases are never
revealed. And since the (Jimmy) Savile sex crimes were revealed, our
helpline has experienced an increase in the number of adults reporting
cases which happened many years, even decades, earlier.
‘While
there are cases of children being sexually assaulted by strangers, the
vast majority of these offences - around nine out of 10 - are committed
by someone the child knows.’
dailymail.co.uk
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